Crippled Hearts
by Jokul Frosti Lokison
Summary: Centuries ago, demons ruled the land until two humans, a father and a son, managed to seal their king and his sons. One just so happened to be Sesshomaru's mate-to-be. He searches but was never able to find his love. Now in the (sort of) present, Inuyasha and the gang get a task to kill a cat sidhe that has spent its life protecting a shrine. What could be in there?


Centuries ago, demons ruled the land. The fighting was brutal and the humans were forced to hide from them. Finally, one demon rose above the rest. He was ruthless and extremely powerful, and if you didn't join him you would burn. He was known as the Great Demon, his name long forgotten by time. He sired eight children which he used to implement his rule.

That isn't to say he wasn't close to any other beings. The Inu no Taisho was considered to be his closest confidant. The Great Demon allowed the other to be the Lord of the West. Inu no Taisho was soon mated and had his first son. It wasn't long after that the Great Demon also sired his youngest child. The two children were close and grew up to be strong. The oldest of the children even started to court the other. Their parents were happy for them and were trying to make the world safer for them.

But it wasn't to be. Two humans, a father and a son, managed to seal the youngest. They then were able to seal the Great Demon and his eight other children. Inu no Taisho and his son tried to find and free them, but with the Great Demon gone, war had started all over again. Humans were able to make villages and demon hunters became stronger. Demons were fighting amongst themselves and humans. Inu no Taisho had to give up on the search to protect his land. His son didn't give up though.

He grew colder and colder, his hatred for humans growing with each day. They took his mate-to-be and he wanted him back. He vowed to one day save his mate, even if it was the last thing he did.

* * *

"Man, I hope this village has a bath," Kagome said while stretching. Inuyasha grumbled angrily under his breath. "A bath does sound nice. I would like to eat first," Miroku said with a grin. Shippou groaned from atop of Kilala. "My feet hurt," he whined.

Inuyasha scowled. "You aren't even walking you damn brat!" he shouted while attempting to hit the kit on the head. Kagome growled softly before pointing at the hanyou, "Sit boy!" she shouted. Inuyasha froze with a look of fear before crashing loudly to the ground. Miroku just shook his head at the other with a look of pity while Sango sighed tiredly. "He never learns does he?" she asked. Kilala just meowed plainly, not even bothering to look at the silver haired demon. Shippou grinned and stuck his tongue out at the other.

"Why you," Inuyasha growled. He glared over at the raven girl, "Why'd you go and do that for?" he snarled. Kagome glared back and frowned at him angrily. "You should know by now not to bully Shippou," she hissed. Inuyasha scoffed and stood up. He dusted himself off before huffing and walking briskly ahead of everyone.

Kagome stalked off after him while glaring at his back. The rest just watched quietly, quite used to this by now but it didn't make it less amusing.

"So," Miroku started and coughed into his hand, "this village we are going to, does anyone know anything about it?" he asked. Kagome looked over at him with big eyes. "I don't know anything. I just know that the man who said there was a village this way said to be careful," she said honestly. Inuyasha frowned at her. "And you didn't think that was important?" he questioned with narrowed eyes. Kagome shrugged her shoulders.

"I mean, as long as Naraku doesn't have anything to do with it we should be fine right?" she said with a tense smile. "I agree with Kagome. But we might have to work for food and a room then," Sango said. Shippou just groaned at the thought of work. Inuyasha glared at the kit before continuing to walk.

They didn't get much farther before they were surrounded by a group of men. Inuyasha grinned sharply at them as he unsheathed Tessaiga. Sango and Miroku both got ready for battle. Shippou leapt off Kilala's back and into Kagome's arms as the cat demon growled and got ready to fight. The humans shifted nervously as the readied themselves for battle. Before anything could happen though the man who they supposed was the leader stepped forth.

He looked surprisingly young with long black hair and teal eyes. He only looked a few years older than Kagome herself. He raised his hand and clenched his fist. The men froze before slightly lowering their weapons. "What business do you have with our village?" he asked with a sneer. Kagome tensed at the malice being directed at them. "We were just traveling and hoping to stay in your lovely village," Miroku said with a charismatic smile. The man scoffed at him and crossed his arms. "The humans can but the demons can stay here. We don't accept their kind anywhere near our village," he said. Inuyasha straightened and growled at the other.

"Got a problem with demons?" he asked lowly. The man smirked at him. "Demons attack our village on a regular basis. We fear you not," he said with pride.

The men surrounding them though shuffled nervously, as though they had never seen battle before. Inuyasha smirked at him, "I would believe that if your men weren't shaking from fear." The man just snarled at him. A lone man just slowly made his way over to their leader. He started to whisper quietly into the raven's ear. The leader stood quietly for a second before nodding.

"You all can enter our village if you do something for us," he said. Sango looked blandly over to Kagome, "Told you," she said while the Miko laughed tensely.

"What's the job?" Miroku asked, clutching his staff closer to his chest. The man nodded to the others, who dispersed and started making their way back to their village. "There is a demon cat near our shrine. It won't let anyone near it. We've tried everything, but not even the strongest of exorcists were able to kill it. And that is exactly what I need you to do," he said before motioning for them to follow him.

The group stood still for a second before deciding to follow him. "This cat has been terrorizing our village for centuries. My father was killed a year ago by that damned feline," he growled out. "Guessing he got too close to the shrine," Inuyasha said with a smirk. Kagome growled at him before hitting him on the back of his head. Shippoud snickered quietly from Kagome's shoulders. The dog hanyou just glared at her while rubbing his head.

The man ignored them. "Not to be a bother, but shouldn't we talk to your village chief?" Miroku asked. The man rose a brow before grinning crookedly at them. "You just did. My name is Hajime Makai, but call me Makai. I'm head of this village," he answered. They stared at him with wide eyes. "But you're so young!" Shippou yelled. The man chuckled softly while nodding.

"I am yes, but my father only sired me," he answered. "Can you tell us more about this cat?" Sango asked. Kilala mewed from her arms. "Like I said, the demon has been in our village for centuries. Long before our village was technically a village. The shrine was at first built to hold something. The story has been long forgotten though so I don't know what is in there. The demon won't let us in," he answered. Inuyasha frowned at that. "It won't let you into a shrine that was there before even your village?" he asked slowly. The man nodded.

"That is true. When demons attack, the cat will kill them before any damage comes to our village. But it also attacks humans who get too close," he continued. Sango and Miroku both frowned at that. "Why would you want the demon killed? It seems to be protecting your village," Kagome asked confused. Makai frowned at her. "That cat has been nothing but trouble. We are sure that it has been attracting the demons. It was strangely powerful. And it has killed many of our village," he said sourly. She just sadly looked down.

It seemed a shame to kill the demon because the humans were scared.

The raven man stopped suddenly before pointing up at the top of the hill. They were able to make out a small shrine at the top. It looked strangely cared for, which was strange since no one was able to get near it.

"That is where you will find the cat. When the job is done, you will be able to stay in our village," he said before turning and walking away. The group just stared after him for a long while. He suddenly turned around before shouting at them. "Also, be sure not to break any of the talismans on the shrine. I might not know what is in the shrine, but I don't want to find out just yet either," he said before rushing off.

"Well he is certainly a character," Miroku said with a grin. Sango huffed at him. "Everything about this mission feels off. A demon guarding a shrine and village, but not allowing anyone near it. Sounds more like he's guarding something, or someone, in the shrine," she said. The group nodded in agreement before continuing their way towards the shrine.

Kagome silently walked towards the shrine. She didn't feel anything evil at all. She felt the talismans but normally she could feel the demon behind them as well. She nudged Miroku silently. "I don't sense anything evil," she said. The monk nodded along, his own frown forming. "I don't sense anything either. We should all be careful," he said. Inuyasha scoffed at them. "What? Are you guys scared? I'll be able to kill anything that gets in our way," he said with a confidant smirk.

"You are such an idiot," Shippou said. He yelped before diving behind Kagome as Inuyasha tried to hit him.

Kagome just sighed tiredly. "Look, we might not even have to kill the demon. I'm more interested in the shrine anyway," she said honestly. "They asked us to kill the damned cat and I'll be damned if I'm spending one more night with you all complaining," Inuyasha growled. Kagome glared at him. "For all we know the village people could be in the wrong!" she shouted at him. Inuyasha glared right back in anger.

They growled at each other while the others quietly moved away. "There they go again," Shippou said nervously. Sango and Miroku both nodded quietly. Kilala's ears perked up before she jumped out of Sango's grip and grew into her true form. Everyone else froze before each got their weapons prepared. Kilala growled quietly at whatever it was she sensed. Suddenly, two big green eyes appeared from the darkness. They glowed ominously.

Suddenly, a large black cat sidhe appeared. It growled angrily at them. It was slightly larger than Kilala and had no flames to speak of. He prowled around them dangerously. Inuyasha growled at it before suddenly he heard something in his head. " _What are you doing here_?" it was a male's voice. It startled him for a second before he growled at it. "We're here to kill you, obviously," he said, startling the humans around him. Shippou and Kilala both heard him. The cat froze before it growled dangerously. " _Those humans put you up to this didn't they?_ " it growled angrily. Inuyasha scoffed.

" _I won't let you hurt him!_ " he yelled angrily before he started to attack. Kilala jumped in front of them and everyone watched in awe as the two cat demons battled. Inuyasha didn't even bother in intervene, but his brain was working on overdrive now. "Hurt him?" Shippou asked. "What did he say?" Sango asked while looking at the two demons that weren't fighting.

"He asked us what we were doing here and if the humans put us up to it. He then got really angry and said he wouldn't let us hurt him," Shippou explained quickly. His eyes never left the fight as he shivered slightly. It was clear that the black demon cat was stronger as he didn't have a scratch on him and Kilala was bleeding and panting from the short battle already. Sango gripped her weapon in anger as she watched, but something prevented her from intervening.

"Stop!" Kagome suddenly shouted. The two fighting demons stopped in their tracks while looking over at her. The black cat jumped back while growling at them angrily. "Who are you protecting? We won't attack you if you tell us," she said. Inuyasha gawked at her. "I told you we are killing the damn cat!" he shouted at her. Kagome glared at him, "Sit boy!" she watched in satisfaction as the hanyou fell on his face.

The demon cat stopped growling and stared at her with big eyes. " _Does she mean it?_ " he asked cautiously. Inuyasha, who was struggling to get up, stared at the cat in awe. Kilala returned to her smaller form and mewed before returning to Sango, who stared in bewilderment. "I'm confused, what is going on?" Miroku asked. Sango shrugged her shoulders, looking questioningly over at Shippou. "This would be much easier if us humans could understand him," Kagome said. The cat sidhe seemed to hear her and nodded silently.

He started to glow brightly, making everyone shield their eyes. When they were finally able to look back at him, a raven haired man stood in his place. He had streaks of white in his hair and his eyes were a bright green. Kagome and Sango both blushed when they noticed her only had a small cloth to protect his virtue. The man was staring at them with questioning eyes. "Do you mean it?" he asked, his voice surprisingly soothing.

Kagome stood and nodded with a determined look in her eyes. "Yes," she answered shortly.

The man stood there for a second silently before a large grin broke through and he laughed happily. "I'm so glad! Does that mean you'll help me save him!? Oh, I can't wait to see him again. It's been how long now?" he asked himself softly before shrugging and happily jogging over to them. With quick steps, and dodging all of Inuyasha's attacks, he managed to wrap his arms around the Miko. Said girl blushed madly while everyone else stared at them in shock. "Get off of her!" Inuyasha yelled as he tried to stab the demon.

Said man jumped away and it was only then that they noticed the twin black tails wagging happily behind him. They also noted that two small golden horns on the top of his head. "Come, I'll take you to him," he said as he grabbed Kagome and rushed off towards the shrine.

He smirked when he heard their yells and continued rushing off towards the shrine which, thankfully, wasn't too far away.

Kagome squealed as she he sat her down none too gently to the ground. She glared up at the grinning demon before she stood back up and hissed at him angrily. It wasn't even two seconds later that Inuyasha and the others barreled their way into the clearing, all ready to fight. The demon cat just laughed before walking over to the shrine with a sad look in his eyes.

Kagome watched him quietly. "Who _is_ in the shrine," she asked while Inuyasha checked her for injuries. _Only this once_ , she thought as she looked fondly over at the hanyou. The demon stopped before taking a seat in front of the shrine. "Well, he isn't going anywhere so I guess I can tell you," he said softly.

"My name is Kuro, my master gave me this name and I treasure it everyday. My master's name is Rin, a powerful demon who was sealed in this very shrine centuries ago by an exorcist. Said exorcist was just a boy at the time, but we thought he was our friend. We watched the boy grow but we never saw it coming. My master was sealed before I even knew what was happening and I've been here since. I never will abandon my master. I did hear that the boy and his father managed to seal Rin's family as well all over the land, but no one has been able to free them either," Kuro said sadly, a lone tear escaping. Kagome stared at the man silently before taking a seat near him. The others watched silently, with varying degrees of pity and sadness.

"That's so sad," Kagome said with tears in her own eyes. "I'm Kagome, and these are my friends; Sango, Miroku, Shippou, Kilala, and Inuyasha," she introduced while pointing towards each person. Kuro grinned happily at them while whipping his tear away. "Thank you everyone. It has been some time since I've been able to talk to anyone," he said with a grin.

Inuyasha couldn't believe this demon's level of loyalty. If what he said was true, then he was the one taking care of the shrine and not having anyone to talk to for centuries. "Why didn't you free him?" Sango asked. It wasn't unheard of for demons to unseal others that were locked away. Kuro laughed humorlessly. "I can't get through the wards, that is why I need your help. I can sense your spiritual powers and they are stronger than that boy's power," he explained.

Kagome and Miroku shared a look before going towards the shrine. Inuyasha grabbed the girl's arm before she could step a foot onto the shrine. "We don't know if that demon isn't evil! You could be setting some powerful demon free that could kill all of us!" he shouted at her. Kuro bristled at that, taking it as an insult, but Kagome beat him to it. "We won't know that until we try. I'm sure that Kuro's master isn't evil. I don't feel any negative energy coming from the shrine," she said with determination. Inuyasha wanted to just pick her up, kicking and screaming, and run away. He wanted no part of this, especially since it could endanger the Miko, but he wouldn't say that. So with clenched teeth and released her.

She smiled at him happily before helping Miroku take down the wards. It took a good few hours before they were able to get all the wards down and by then both the monk and Miko were exhausted.

When the final ward fell, Kuro was rushing inside the shrine before anyone could stop him. He practically ripped off the doors before stopping. The others rushed to see what stopped him and they all gasped in shock.

In the middle of the floor lay a raven haired man who barely looked past twenty. His eyes were closed and chains kept him on the ground. On the floor seemed to be some sort of ward that was carved onto the very wood he lay on. What startled them most was the sword that stuck out of the prone man's chest. There was an obvious fight seeing the scratches and burn marks that littered the inside of the shrine. The outside looked not even a year old but the inside was decaying and webs and dust covered everything except the body on the ground.

Kuro whined sadly in the back of his throat as he slowly entered the shrine, "Rin," he said as tears slowly fell from his eyes. He looked quickly over the ward that was etched onto the very ground before his eyes widened. He suddenly broke the floor, making cracks appear in the ward. He growled angrily as he stepped closer to the body. He grasped the sword but yelped and quickly stepped back. He looked down at his burnt hand and growled.

"Now what?" Miroku asked. Kilala mewed before sniffing the body and sword. Kuro huffed in annoyance. "One of you should try and pull the sword out, but not the full blooded demons. It seems we can't touch it," he said while showing off his injured hand. Sango slowly walked over to the sword. "I'll try it first," she said and slowly tried to grab the sword. Sadly, it had the same result of when Kuro touched it. "Well, I can't get it," she said. Kagome and Miroku both tried but got burned from the sword as well.

Inuyasha scowled as it was obviously his turn. "I don't know what your expecting, but I doubt the dumb sword will let me touch it," he said while stalking closer. He stared down at the boy before glaring at the sword. He slowly reached forward and wrapped his hand around the hilt. When nothing happened, everyone let out the breath they were holding. "Oh thank god," Kuro said with a breathless laugh.

The hanyou stared for a second before pulling out the sword in one quick movement. They stared but nothing happened. Kuro slowly inched closer before nodding to himself. "Place the sword on his chest now. He should wake from that," he said confidently. Inuyasha rose a brow but did as requested.

They all waited for a minute and when it seemed hopeless the boy's hand twitched. Kuro grinned before his eyes widened. "Everyone out!" he shouted as he made a mad dash for the door. They stared in shock for a second before following the older demons lead. They had barely made it out when the whole shrine went up in blue flames. Their eyes widened as they ran faster to get out of range. They watched in stunned silence from a safe distance as the shrine burnt to the ground and standing upon its' ashes stood Kuro's master, Rin.

His startling blue eyes glowed with power and his pupils were red and slits, like a snake. A black tail waved lazily behind him. His appeared to be wearing a blue yukata that was ripped in many places and barely staying on and his skin was so pale that he seemed to glow in the fading light of the sun. He took one step, then two, before falling onto one knee. The flames seemed to die out slowly before all that was left was flames that formed horns on the top of his head and that danced lazily across his skin and tail. He slowly grabbed his sword and blinked tiredly at them. "K...Kuro," he said softly before falling. Kuro rushed forward and caught him just as his flames went out.

Kuro smiled happily down at his master while crying. "Rin," he said as he brought the other closer to his chest. "I'm so happy," he said softly. Everyone stood around them with small smiles, minus Inuyasha who watched on with a smirk. Kuro finally looked at them. "Thank you so much," he grinned at them with tears streaming down his face. The cat sidhe seemed to remember something before looking around at the ashes that surrounded him. "Um. If you don't mind...could you help me find Rin's sheath, for his sword," he said with a shaky smile.

Inuyasha groaned while Kagome nodded along and started her search.

"Here we go again," the silver haired demon groaned as he helped the others search for the bastard's sword sheath.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed parte uno. I am so excited for this story that I don't even care what anyone says about it. I hope you all enjoyed it and review. I would love to hear your thoughts on it.**


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